


Road to the End, Volume 2

by digitaleva



Series: Road to the End [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-06-07 22:48:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6828289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaleva/pseuds/digitaleva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In both Atlas and Vale, people begin training and preparing for the offensive that will, hopefully, end in the reclamation of the rest of Vale and the re-opening of Beacon Academy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Yang 2.0

While Yang remained asleep over the next two days, Blake spent her days in the mansion's weapons laboratory, which was buried below the training room. Of course, Ruby was in there as well, having made a few modifications to Crescent Rose herself, the scythe not becoming any smaller, but gaining the ability to fire in a tri-burst at the flick of a switch, a feature that Weiss had questioned at first, but was reassured that it was a necessary change that had to happen for her to be more effective in the field'.

"1/4."

The cat Faunus was buried in her work, not noticing the outside world for the most part. But she had a truth she was hiding from the younger huntress. She was using this to distract herself.

"1/4!"

"Thanks, Ruby."

"No problem! Oooooo! What can it do?"

Blake rolled her eyes at the inquiry. She had almost forgotten that Ruby was a weapon fanatic. It was nice to have her for company, but she had a question of her own, and she figured that now was better than never to ask it.

"Ruby, I'll be honest, it doesn't really function too differently from my old one. I had the base firearm made thanks to the General, but I wanted a blade again as well."

"Ooo. Simple. Nice."

"I have something to ask you as well," she admitted, her face turning a slight shade of red.

"What's up, Blake?"

"It... It's about Yang."

Ruby's expression changed slightly. She was starting to become protective of her older sister, so the inquiry was a little strange, especially coming from somebody who knew her almost as well as she did.

"What about her?"

"You wouldn't... happen to know... how she...."

"How she what?"

"Does she hate me? She was smiling in Patch, but I'm not sure if that was a front."

Ruby had to think for a moment. She had left Patch again not long after coming home, but that didn't mean that she hadn't sent Yang messages, or hadn't heard her in the night.

~Previous Winter~

The snow was starting to fall, the white flakes coming silently down, their descent illuminated by the shattered moon. Normally, Ruby would have been sound asleep, the falling crystals completely missed by the teen. Tonight, however, was different. She was wide awake. Partially because of the sounds coming from the next room.

It had started with a loud thud that had woken her up, followed by a second one moments later. She knew the sound of the closets in the house opening and closing like the back of her hand. It was as if she had never left when she woke up in her bed almost an entire month after the Battle of Beacon.

She was tempted to get out of bed, and go check on the occupant. She knew Yang was in there. That was one thing that she knew all too well, as the completely made and folded bed next to hers was still devoid of the young woman's presence. This served to make the room seem emptier, as she had gotten used to sharing a room with the blonde and their team mates at Beacon.

It was when she heard the crying, and no footsteps answered it, that she left the warmth of her bed to head to the hall and stand outside the door. As she stood there, she couldn't help but feel for her sister. She knew that the older girl was trying to be strong, to put up a front, and wished that she would just let it down every now and again, just to let somebody in. Somebody other than her.

"Blake... Why did you run? Why would you do what you said you'd never do?"

The blonde's voice was wavering heavily, and the younger girl in the hall could tell that she was on the verge of a breakdown, but also figured that it was better to let her cry it out than attempt to intervene, as her last attempt at helping had been so solidly rebuffed.

As she turned back to her bedroom, a soft voice came from the room, but she couldn't decipher it, so she left it alone and returned to her bed, where she spent the rest of the night lying on her side, staring at the empty bed next to hers.

~Present time~

"I don't think she does, Blake. She just... She just needed answers. She kept mumbling something else, and all we could make out of that was your name, so we just left it as her repeating her questions, only quieter."

The raven-haired woman looked at the floor, her amber eyes downturned and showing sadness.

"But, she probably got over it all after you told her why, right?"

"She... She seemed to.. but I just..." she turned towards the door as it opened. "Is she...?"

"Awake? Yeah."

"Awe yeah! She's back in the game! I wanna go...."

"Sorry, kiddo," Qrow said, catching his younger niece at the waist, "She asked me to get Blake. No offense, but I think she has... other things to talk about."

"Uncle Qrow, if you are saying what I think you're saying, then you don't know Yang like you think you do."

"Kiddo, trust me. She wants to talk to kitty here," the older scythe user said, amending it to include, "No offense intended," as the Faunus narrowed her eyes at him, her eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Only Yang uses that phrase... Nobody else. Got it, Qrow?"

"Alright. Alright. I got it," he said, raising his hands to cover himself, lowering them only once he was certain that Blake was well past his location and on her way to where Yang was lying in bed.

In the recovery ward, Yang was looking over Ruby's handiwork. Sure enough, there were hallmarks of her enthusiasm to help her sister out there. The doctor had told her that it was capable of withstanding 3.5x the impact force of one of the rounds from Crescent Rose at point blank without losing structural integrity, which was shocking, given how light it was. They had even offered to put synthetic skin over it, but reminded her that it would be slightly expensive.

So she had decided against that, choosing, instead, to have the second chance at life that her younger sibling had made be on display for the world to see. While it wasn't in a color she would have liked, the younger girl had gone out of her way to design and make this so that she could fight again, so it meant more to her to not hide it. When the door handle jiggled slightly, she immediately hid the limb, wanting to surprise the person coming through.

"Yang?"

"Hiya, Blake!"

"You seem... awfully happy over this."

The blonde lifted her left hand, keeping her right limb hidden beneath the blanket, and motioned for her partner to come over. When the Faunus did, she was caught in an almost all encompassing hug that came from not one, but two limbs.

"Yang?"

"Thank you. Thank you for coming back... I... I really mean it."

This statement took the other female slightly by surprise. She hadn't expected to be thanked, much less hugged, by the blonde, after what had happened. And here she was, getting both.

"Yang I... I don't deserve this."

The blonde released her prisoner and patted the opposite side of the bed, as she had been placed in a normal sized one, as opposed to a simple hospital bed, something she was certain Weiss was behind. Not wanting to lose the moment, Blake took the hint and rounded the bed, where she joined her partner.

"You could have left once we got here. Gone to Vale. But you didn't. Or you never even come with Uncle Qrow to the house. But you did."

"But that was because Ruby..."

"Ap ap ap. I'm not finished. I had a feeling Ruby would do something like that. She is just like her mom, always thinking about other people before herself. But that's not the point. The point is that you came back when I really needed you."

"You do know I am liable to run again, right?"

"I know. I get that it's kinda... your... thing," the blonde said, making air quotes as she uttered thing, "But I want to believe that you'll give me another chance. Blake I... I really..."

The human's lilac eyes met the Faunus' own Amber gaze, where they stayed, locked, trapped in a battle, one which Blake ended.

"How do you like the arm?"

"Like it? I LOVE IT! I can fight again, Blake! I can do what I used to before he," she said, her voice laden with disdain for any reference to Adam, "did what he did."

"You know that they are going to want you to train with it before they release you, right?"

"Psh. Yeah. I know."

The two continued talking for hours, rekindling their friendship and bringing themselves back to where they were at before they lost their school.

Out in the hall, Winter smiled at Qrow.

"Pay up."

"Awe. Come on. That wasn't even remotely fair."

"You bet me 50 Lien that they would say three words. And those three were never said."

"Fine..."

He fished the payment out of his pocket, handing it over to his partner in crime as of late, making sure to pull her in as he did so.

"So... later tonight?"

"Maybe."


	2. Rosebuds

Things around the Schnee household were starting to get lively. There was no denying that Team RWBY had lost none of their understanding of how the other members fought, but the changes to their weapons were making things a little difficult. 

Crescent Rose could now put more ammunition downrange at a faster pace, allowing Ruby to fire it from the hip, as the added Tri-burst function made the breach automatic. 

Myrtenaster had been almost unchanged, save for being sharpened and polished, so Weiss had the most to learn from her team mates as opposed to them from her.

Gambol Shroud had been rebuild around a SubMachine Rifle frame, enabling a faster output from the original's handgun frame, and now sported twin blades that folded in much the same fashion on the top of the weapon. Of course, this annoyed Weiss slightly, as the Faunus was able to now disarm her easily, but she was assured that the feature wasn't made to upset her, but to counter Blake's psychotic ex.

Ember Celica, while looking almost identical, had been reworked to have two barrels in each piece, which facilitated an upgraded ammunition feed system, giving Yang a serious upgrade in the firepower. The biggest change, however, was to the finished length of the weapons guard on the outside of the arms, as they now extended a plate outwards that covered the blonde's elbows; the change made at Blake's suggestion, remembering how easily Yang had been beaten by Adam before.

Additionally, things were starting to get interesting for the remaining members of Team JN_R, with Jaune becoming more and more withdrawn from his remaining team mates just as they were getting closer. It didn't show in the arena, but it showed off the field, when he would look at the sky for hours, or spend an entire day in his room, simply lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

Nora and Ren, on the other hand, had managed to help Weiss convince her father that partners should be in the same room, which he agreed to, on the condition that any shenanigans were kept away from his eyes and ears. So they were comfortably tucked away, while Dante shared a room with Jaune, the older man being a source of companionship and advice on the loss of a team member and friend to the young blonde.

"Ren?"

Nora looked at her now boyfriend as she spoke.

"Hmm?"

"You ever wanna... go... like... out?"

"Nora, I don't know much about Atlas, to be honest."

"Oh. I see... Sorry..."

The martial artist turned to face her.

"Don't apologize for that. It isn't your fault. I was thinking about getting to know the area."

"Oh... So...."

"I'll ask Weiss what places are good to go. She should know. She is from here."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"

"You just get ready. She'll probably suggest someplace fancy, so make sure it isn't our normal attire."

"Got it," she exclaimed, hopping up and planting a kiss on his cheek before heading to look in the closet.

He left the room and headed towards the arena, where he was certain Team RWBY was at, only to run into his target in the hallway.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

He looked at Weiss, her face shining slightly with sweat.

"How did it go?"

"It went... better than before. Blake is still able to disarm me easily, which is something I need to work on. Yang hasn't changed a bit, but I don't think telling her how much damage her arm could take was the best move," she paused before continuing. "And Ruby is just... she's just... so...."

The heiress started blushing slightly at the thoughts going through her head. She wouldn't tell anybody, but she had fallen on purpose a few times, just so she could take a look at her partner without anybody thinking anything of it.

"Uh... Weiss?"

The martial artist snapped her out of her trance.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, a smile on her face. "Did you need something?"

"Yes, actually. You see..."

He started to walk with her as they spoke, revealing his plan to take Nora out to dinner, and admitting to knowing nothing about Atlas in terms of places to go. The fencer agreed to help him on one condition: He had to keep a secret from Nora for her.

"What's up?"

"Well... you see... I haven't exactly told her.... But...."

"Wait a second. Told who?"

"Ruby. Sorry. I... I'm asking too much."

"Weiss, no offense, but you are helping Nora and I both out. This is the least I can do for you."

"Thank you. I really want to go out with Ruby."

"No offense intended, but didn't you say that she was a hazard to your health?"

"Yes. I did," the heiress confirmed, remembering how rude she had been to the younger female when they had first met. "And she... she managed to change my opinion of her. She's driven, and a really good leader, and I just wish I could have been a better partner and gone to help Yang when...."

Her voice trailed off as she remembered the maiming Yang had received from Adam Taurus.

"That isn't your fault, Weiss. You were fighting just as hard. You did everything you could. As for Ruby, I would suggest telling her how you feel. Keeping it all bottled up seems to be taking its toll on you."

Weiss turned around, and looked back at Ren.

"Where are you going?"

"To take your advice and put it into practice. You two have fun tonight!"

Back at the locker room, Ruby was looking at her sister, the blonde drying her hair effortlessly with the returned use of both arms.

"Yang?"

"Wassup, Ruby?"

Immediately, the younger sister grew silent. "N-nothing. Never mind."

Slightly confused, the brawler looked at her partner, catching a momentary glimpse of the Faunus' backside as she stepped into the shower. Immediately, she turned and grabbed her sister by the arm.

"What are you doing!?"

"Ruby, I need help."

"With what?"

"Blake. I just... I know she answered me, but I am afraid I'll scare her off now. You know... with... this," she said, moving her new prosthetic.

"Pssh. Nah. She wouldn't. It's not like you wanna be with Weiss.... EEP!"

Ruby immediately realized what she had uttered, and squeaked, hoping to move on, something that Yang was not about to do.

"Oh. My. Gawd! Ruby, you have got to be kidding me!"

"Shhh! Not so loud, Yang. I just... I kinda... you know."

"Alright. Sister talk time. Why Weiss?"

"Just between us?"

"You betcha."

"You see... she just... and when she moves around with her sword... and I just...."

The younger girl was moving from point to point at a breakneck pace, bombarding her older sister with information.

"Slow down, there, sis. I get it. You can spare me some of the details. Just never really pegged you as being, you know, into this kinda stuff."

"Sorry, Yang, I just kinda... I don't wanna make a fool of myself. I just get so... so..."

"Flustered?"

"That's it! Flustered. Yeah. She just makes it so damn hard to concentrate. Every moment around her is just perfect to me. And I'm afraid she doesn't feel like that..."

"You mean about you?"

"Exactly."

"Well," the blonde said, looking towards the door, "here is your chance."

This, of course, prompted Ruby to turn around to see Weiss in the doorway, looking right at her. And purposefully walking her way.

"We need to talk."

The heiress grabbed her partner's hand with a parting message over her shoulder to Yang.

"I won't hurt her, I swear."

Back in their shared room, Ren and Nora were finishing getting dressed, with Ren hiding in the closet to keep from seeing his partner in a state of undress, despite his knowing that she wouldn't really care if it was him that saw her.

"You just about ready out there?"

"I've been ready for a few minutes, silly. I don't know why you felt that you had to hide. It's not like you haven't seen me before."

"Nora, we were a lot younger then."

"Oh yeah. Good point. So... what did she suggest?"

The taller teen looked at his partner. "It's a surprise."

He then pulled out his scroll and checked that the places Weiss had told him about had room, noticing a few new messages from the Heiress.

\\\Sender: Weiss Schnee\\\  
\\\MSG:\\\  
\\\Dinner reservations are for 7, you two have a private seating, limo will take you there.\\\

In his head, he made a note to thank Weiss for the help. He hadn't expected her to make reservations for them, but she had gone above and beyond what he had asked.

\\\Sender: Weiss Schnee\\\  
\\\MSG:\\\  
\\\Movie tickets are to that action movie she was raving about a week ago.\\\  
\\\Hope she likes it.\\\

Smiling slightly, he looked at the time.

"Nora, we better head down. You'll like this."

True to his word, Nora did enjoy it, and Ren learned that she could be quiet if the situation called for it, as she kept her volume down during dinner, and they had a nice conversation, with the orange-haired woman occasionally running her foot up his leg, making him get some slight goosebumps, and making him a blush a little.

It was when he went to pay that he got the biggest surprise. Weiss had paid for everything for them, not wanting them to worry about it. All the same, Ren fished a few Lien out of his wallet, leaving a tip for the waiter.

At the theater, he was relieved that all the heiress had done was reserve their tickets. Looking at them, however, he was surprised at the title. It was a martial arts film, and he had only mentioned a passing interest in it to his partner, and yet she had talked it up to Weiss like it was the best thing ever. Glancing over, he saw her flash him a smile as they presented the tickets and went to their seats.

"Nora, this is something I'm interested in. When did you?"

"Last month. I kept hearing you talk about them, so I looked a few up. They're pretty good."

"Ah."

They sat in silence through the film, Nora understanding that Ren treated this just like going to a live performance. All the same, she did sneak her hand under his, interlocking their fingers.

The movie over, they headed back outside, where the limo was waiting.

"How did you like it, Nora?"

"It... was... awesome! I've never seen one in a theater before, so this was a complete change, and the fighting was so good! Do you think you could move like that? Eh, who am I kidding? You move way better than that..."

She was silenced when he kissed her.

"Ren?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. For all of this."

"Thank Weiss as well. She helped."

"I will. When we get back, can we just go to bed, though? I'm just kinda wanting to be still for a bit."

"We just sat through a 3 hour movie. You were still the entire time."

"I know. But I mean still and horizontal. With you. Just comfy. You know?"

"Alright, Nora. Alright."


	3. Dispatch

"What do you mean you need to leave?"

Qrow looked at his niece, the young Huntress being in the dark was not something that he liked.

"We got a call from Peter. It took him a while to say it, but we are needed in Vale."

"Then take us with you."

"No!"

The shout startled Ruby a little.

"Uncle Qrow?"

"No. Ruby. We can't. Not this time," He reiterated, his tone softer. "You need to be here to gather as many extra Huntsmen and Huntresses as you can. Your team is too damn important for us to just throw you kids away like that."

"Why are we so important, though?"

"You'll understand in time, kiddo," the boozehound said, putting a hand on her cloaked shoulder. For now, just stay with Dante and the others. They are going to need your help more than ever now. Promise me that, Ruby. Promise me."

The younger scythe user nodded in agreement, and looked up at her mentor.

"Just... If you see dad, tell him we're alright, okay?"

"You got it."

As he went to leave, he gave her a fist bump, winking in what she thought was her direction.

Behind her, Weiss was standing, having just had a similar conversation with her sister. While she understood why she was going, as the older Schnee's commanding officer had made the request, it wouldn't ever be any easier.

As she watched the pair leave, she stepped up to Ruby, placing her hand in the younger girl's.

"Ruby?"

"YGEH!"

The younger of the pair jumped at the question.

"Ruby?"

"S... sorry about that, Weiss. What's up?"

"We should... go... and help Yang."

"I don't think Yang is the one who needs the help. She had destroyed more robots than your sister and I can fix."

Leading her partner off to where a steadily growing pile of training mecha was, the heiress reveled in the chance to slide her fingers between Ruby's.

On the aircraft to Vale, Qrow was looking out the window, knowing that it wasn't going to take as long as Winter said it would to reach Vale. He would occasionally look across to where she sat, wishing that he wasn't so stubborn as to keep them in a perpetual state of "what are we", but he didn't want to hurt her at the same time. She was a Schnee, and that meant something in the world still, despite her having given up her claim to her father's vast fortune.

When her father had insisted on them taking a private plane to their drop zone, as opposed to the Bullhead that Ironwood had offered, they hadn't refused, realizing that he was in a good mood.

Still, the pair was more shocked that her father was on board with helping the reclamation of Vale and Beacon, no matter how impossible the latter seemed. Whatever Ruby had told him must have stirred his inner longing to be a huntsman, which he never spoke of to anybody, and Winter only knew of because of a single photo that was on his desk, which showed a much younger Valkoinen Schnee in the uniform of Atlas Academy with his weapon and teammates, the other three faces having been obscured long ago by oil from him handling the picture.

"So... When we get there... Are we...."

"Back to military protocol? Yes."

"I see. And Jimm... er... James... uh... the General..."

"Will be giving me orders, yes."

"Gotcha."

"Qrow?"

"Hmm?"

He was lucky his reflexes were what they were, as he caught the object before it collided with his face. Looking at his hand, he noticed that his flask had been tossed his way.

"When did you?"

"Before we left. It's refilled. You were almost out."

"Ah. I see. Thanks."

"You're welcome, Qrow."

"Sir, Ma'am. 2 minutes to drop point."

They nodded in affirmation to the pilot and sat back down. The one thing Qrow hated about private planes on a mission was that he couldn't just jump out of them. They needed to land first. And that, in his head, was a problem, as it made them a very vulnerable target.

The time passed quickly, and they touched down on the outskirts of the safe zone, in the middle of what was once the town square, which now lay in slight ruin. As the pair disembarked, they realized that the situation was more under control than Ironwood had led them to believe. Atlas personnel were all over, uniforms and battle armor creating a sea of white and grey, mixing with the Vale militia's black and red uniforms. 

"You be careful out there, Ice Queen."

"Same to you, you drunk."

Despite the terms seeming cold and heartless to observers, the two had adopted them as terms of endearment, so it was like their secret code. Before anybody could notice that it had happened, the pair shared a quick kiss, then headed off to report to their respective commanders. They would be put to the test in the coming months, and it wasn't going to be simple.


	4. Tournaments Past

"What do you mean, sir? I thought I was supposed to report to you."

Ironwood rubbed his temple, the strain of a few failed assaults on the captured parts of Vale evident.

"That bombastic fool. I told him that you were to report to Goodwich."

"General?"

"The message wasn't relayed correctly, then. There are huntsmen and huntresses coming in from around the globe, and the remaining academies are offering their support via full student teams."

He lifted his head, looking off to where a group of eight was returning, at their front were four women, all with various weapons, followed by an all male team. Behind them, were the remnants of a squad of soldiers, many of which were limping. 

As they passed, Winter could see the change to the students' faces. Where once optimism and excitement would have been visible, there was exhaustion and doubt. It was especially obvious on the face of the blonde male on the second group of students. She knew that she recognized the two teams, but she couldn't put her face on it until the blonde opened his mouth.

"It's all cleared, General. We're gonna..."

"You are all going to get some rest. You may be younger, but there is no reason for you all to run yourselves ragged."

"But, sir," the redhead in the second team said, shaking his head.

"You heard the General, Scarlet," the blue haired male said.

"And he's right."

"But, Dew..."

The blonde male put a hand on his teammate's shoulder.

"Sun?"

"Look, buddy. I don't like it any more than you do, but I gotta take their side this time. I'm bushed."

It was as they walked away that Winter knew where she had seen both groups before. It had been only a little over a year ago that she had watched their match in the Vytal Festival tournament.

"But they're just..."

"I know, Schnee. I know. I wish it wasn't like this. But they volunteered."

"When?"

"It was not long after your father's company made the repair to the CCT to bring it back up for almost complete communication. The teams that you just saw return installed a device he gave me into Vale's that will transmit a jump patch to the remaining two towers in Mistral and Vacuo. We'll be back to full communication, with an added bonus: towers can now be lost without the system crashing."

"My father... did that?"

"Yes. He did. Quite an impressive feat, if I do say so myself. Now, go and report to Glynda."

Winter snapped to attention and saluted before striding off to rendezvous with the remaining staff from Beacon.

Over at the rest area, Qrow was sitting with a blonde woman who was in her late twenties. The two were reminiscing about past tournaments, including the one time that their team had faced off against Team STRQ in the tournament.

"You guys really packed a punch."

"Yeah," the drunk said, "but it wasn't our lucky day. Sure, we were the senior team, but not by much. You whipped us in the end."

"Yeah. We did. And then...," her voice trailed off as she started to remember what had happened only a year after that.

"Yeah. All the academies learned about that. Even huntsmen and huntresses in the field," he extended his hand, offering her a sip from his flask.

"I don't drink. No offense."

"None taken," he returned the flask to his lips, taking a sip, the liquor inside being a higher quality than his normal, cheap, liver killing brew. "Leave it to her to do that to me. She's gonna ruin me for getting a quick drink."

"Did you see him?"

"Huh?"

"Dante. I... I heard he's in Atlas."

Qrow thought for a minute before the name clicked with a face. "You mean the guy who damn near got himself killed?"

"WHAT!?"

"Calm down and listen. He's fine. We got him to the Schnees. They're taking care of him."

The blonde woman relaxed a little at this. "Is he..."

"He's gonna be fine. A few scars more than when you last saw him, probably, but fine."

Qrow took another swig of the alcohol before continuing.

"Was he always that impulsive?"

"Oh yeah. Dante has always been one to rush in without thinking. It only got worse after..."

"After your team mate died. I know. But, he made one damn good teacher. And you were a damn good soldier, from what I read."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, just because I drink a lot..."

Caos rolled her eyes. "That's the understatement of the century."

"Shush, you," the older Huntsman glared at her.

"It doesn't mean he doesn't keep in touch with the rest of the world via the news."

"WINTER!"

"Specialist Schnee. Ma'am." Caos jumped to her feet, snapped to attention, and saluted.

"There's no need for that. I am a Huntress, same as you. No need to stand on formality for me."

"Sorry, ma'am. Can't do that."

"Caos, you aren't military any more. You can call me by my name."

"Sorry, ma..." She was cut off when the older Schnee got in her face.

"If you want to follow protocol, then fine. That's an order. Just talk to me like I'm a normal person."

"Yes ma'am."

"And knock it off with that. I get enough of that around Atlas."

"Winter..."

"And I just want a break for a bit."

"Winter..."

"Have you seen Glynda?"

"Hey! Ice Queen!"

Winter snapped around to face Qrow at the utterance of the nickname.

"What, Qrow!?"

"Geeze. Calm down. I was gonna ask why you're here, and not with the General."

Regaining her composure, Winter relayed the message that had been given to her by Ironwood.

"Heh. Should've expected that Peter would screw something up eventually. Glynda isn't here right now, she's out making sure that refugees have enough supplies. She'll be back later."

"Alright. Can we talk, Qrow?"

"Sure thing."

"Alone?"

Caos stood and turned away.

"You two go talk. I'll go check the perimeter."

She turned and left, pulling out her scroll, and flicking through the photos on the device. She thumbed through them until she came to the one she wanted. Looking around, she ducked behind a stack of supply crates and sat, bringing her knees up to her chest. She sat, looking at the image, and remembering when life was simpler. Back before that day. 

She knew that the photo would only bring the bad memories to the forefront, but she kept it as a reminder of why she fought. She had a motivation for being here. For wanting to help out in Vale. She wasn't about to force another family to go through what Obsidian's family had been through. It just wasn't right, in her head, that all the kids were fighting on the front lines while fully trained Huntsmen and Huntresses were relegated to guard duty.

If she were in command, she would see it reversed. However, the reality was that she wasn't in control here. So she would do everything she could to ensure that things went well. To prevent as many deaths as possible. That was her new goal. She switched over to the messaging program and wrote a quick message, sending it off to the recipient. She then stood and pocketed the device.


	5. Recovery

"Yang! That's enough! We have to fix those!"

Ruby's voice rang out over the loud speaker, stopping her sister in her tracks. As she resettled on both feet, she looked around to see the piles of twitching and sparking combat training automatons on the floor. She smiled and rubbed the back of her head.

"Sorry, Ruby. I just got carried away."

"Hit the showers, Yang. You're good for today. One final set of adjustments to your arm should have it working perfectly."

"Uh-huh. Gotcha, sis."

The blonde turned and left the room to head to the locker room, where she removed her clothes, making a mental note to wash them, as they smelled of oil and smoke. She then stepped into the shower and turned the knob as high as it would go, allowing the water to cascade over her, the scalding liquid feeling absolutely amazing to her after the training she had just done.

How many weeks had it been since she got the arm? She had lost count. In that time, though, her sister had been the mechanic in charge of making adjustments to it. She ran over the maintenance history in her head, which made her realize just how much work her sister was actually doing on her behalf.

Week 1: Broken actuators in the fingers, directly resulting from her punching an android full force. The fix had been to put in new actuators that Ruby had designed, and were still experimental. They wouldn't be easy to replace in the field, but the younger girl had assured her that they would be fine no matter what.

Week 2: Elbow jammed at 45 degrees. They found that the cause was cracked shielding on the hydraulic line that ran inside the part. When Yang had activated her semblance, she had managed to boil off the necessary liquid. Again, her sister had solved that, with Blake's help, this time. The two had worked to make a high temperature lubricant capable of withstanding the brawler's burning aura, as well as a high temperature feed line being installed.

Week 3: Cracked shell plate. Nobody could figure out why it happened until a metallurgist looked at the limb. Small pockets of air in the metal had caused the rupture. He had re-forged all the metal parts free of charge, on the condition that Ruby agree to make the technology in the arm available to the Atlas military. And now, it was working far better than anybody had ever anticipated.

And now, as she finished the list, she realized it had been a full month since she had been allowed out of bed. And she knew exactly what the tune-up was for. She had nonchalantly mentioned to her sister that the wrist would occasionally twitch for no reason, which everybody agreed was a problem, which the blonde hadn't thought about until she was informed of the fact that it could potentially cause her weapon to misfire.

The biggest thing she was thrilled about with the arm was that the sleek exterior was waterproof. It meant that she didn't have to take any special precautions when bathing, and could even go swimming. By this point, the water was starting to cool off, so she stepped off and grabbed a towel wrapping it around herself before she stepped out into the locker area.

Walking across, she saw that a mechanic's jumpsuit had been left for her. By this point, she had learned better than to question her sister's mentality on things like this, especially when she noticed that the right arm had been removed. She quickly threw it on and headed to where she would see her sister, already fussing over which tools to get.

Down in the maintenance area, Ruby and Blake were fussing over a robot that shouldn't have malfunctioned. Nothing was broken, but it had been the first to go down. They were deep in discussion about it when Yang walked in, scaring her sister.

"'sup, Ruby?"

"GYAH! YANGDON'TDOTHATTOME!"

The blonde woman smiled at this. Even after being apart for nearly a year and a half, her sister was still the same in terms of reactions. 

Her appearance, however, had changed a little. Her once cropped hair was now tied back in a simple ponytail, and she had gotten a little taller, shedding some of the baby fat that she once had around her cheeks and mid-section. In her head, she started to see why Weiss was suddenly so nervous around the younger female. However, she wasn't here to focus on the fact that her sister was starting to look almost exactly like her mother.

"You said one more tweak?"

"Yup," the younger teen said, the "p" popping harder than any other letter. "I don't want that wrist acting up, so I re-checked the code. There is a redundancy between line 32 and line 96 that causes the issue, and the actuators may potentially be scuffed so..."

"Ruby, I don't need all the details. You know this better than me, it would seem."

Ruby rubbed the back of her head, blushing a little. "Well... actually, Weiss checked it after I did. She caught the redundancy."

"Someone's got a crush," the blonde said in a sing-song manner, causing the younger girl to pull her hood up over her head to hide the growing redness.

"Yang! Stop it!"

"Awe, come on, Ruby. No matter how old you get, you'll always be my little sister."

"I know that, but you don't need to rub it in." She then turned to face their feline companion. "Blake? You got the rest with the robots?"

"Of course. You go take care of everything else. This was the only one that really needed the repairs. The others all have the new OS installed that allows them to grab their own spare parts and self-repair."

She then noticed the look of horror on Yang's face.

"It can be overridden to prevent that. Master shutdown code in their programming. Anti-hacker, as well. No repeats of Vale."

"Oh. Right. Well... uh... Ruby.... about the arm..."

"Got it!"

After what seemed like an eternity to the blonde, but Ruby was adamant was only 30 minutes, she was back on her feet and out of, as she called it, the mad scientist's lair. She then headed upstairs, past Weiss, and to her room, where her pajamas lay on the bed, inviting her to rest.

"What was that all about?"

"What was what about?"

Ruby and Weiss were sitting in the lounge, looking over a couple magazines. Across from them, Blake was engrossed in a novel. While not her usual smut, she was drawn into the book due to a small interest in classic literature.

"Yang winked at me and said," You better take care of my sister". What was that about?"

"Um... uh.... eh heh heh heh....."

"If you two could just get it over with, Yang's teasing might stop."

The pair looked in the Faunus' direction, their faces both switching from pale to beet red.

"I...."

"We..."

"And Yang just...."

Blake sighed at the hopelessness of the pair across from her. Making a mental note of what page she was on, she shut the tome, placing it gently on the table.

"Ruby, I know how you feel about Weiss. It's no secret. Well... Not from me, as Yang keeps telling me about how she read your diary..."

"I'LL KILL HER!"

"Calm down. She's your older sibling. I think they're supposed to do that."

She then turned to Weiss.

"And you need to just open up. Even I have seen you two looking each other over. Don't get me wrong, it's cute, but it is obnoxious. Just... go on a date... or something. I don't know."

"Well... I've... thought about it," Weiss admitted. "But I'm not entirely sure my father would like..."

"Weiss, if you spend your entire life trying to please him, you'll never live for you. You'll never be happy."

The raven-haired Faunus' expression changed as memories started coming back.

"When I was in the White Fang, I was... in a relationship... if you want to call it that."

"With the guy who took Yang's arm. We know."

"Yeah. Looking back on it, it wasn't a healthy relationship. I kept trying to please him, and when I'd fall short, he'd get angry. Sometimes to the point of violence. I made the decision to leave the one night. We were supposed to blow up a train carrying some Dust..."

"Wait... You were the one who cut the connection between the crew and the explosives?"

"Yes, Weiss. Again, though, that was before I knew any of you. I just... I just couldn't do it any more. I was burned out, so I retreated into books. Then I went to Beacon, hoping to see if I could get better and actually gain the skills to beat him. And then..."

The atmosphere in the room changed as she remembered the moment Adam, fulfilling his promise, had removed Yang's arm at the elbow during the siege of Beacon. She still blamed herself for it, even if nobody else would.

"Blake?"

She lifted her head to see Ruby standing almost right in front of her.

"You did what you could. And you got her out of there. She's alive because of you."

"Ruby's right. Besides, I've seen you and Yang doing the same thing as us, so..."

"I know! Alright! I know! I just... I don't know if she'd accept me."

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other and smiled. They had seen the door open behind Blake, and had definitely noticed Yang enter.

"Blake, why would you worry about that?"

"Yang!"

"Blake, I'm serious. I know I made a mistake. I wasn't ready to fight him, and I made a mistake. You came back when I needed you the most. Like I said when you came to see me before they let me out of that stupid bed, you came back. You didn't have to, but you did."

The blonde then turned her eyes to Weiss.

"And I mean it. You take care of Ruby, you get me? Because if you don't, I definitely know where your room is."

The statement made the heiress turn several shades whiter than she normally would be, while it made Ruby turn a shade of red that rivaled her cloak.

"I understand you, Yang. Now, If you'll excuse us."

Ruby, while not the biggest person on taking hints caught this one loud and clear. She followed her partner out of the room leaving her friend and sister alone to talk.

"Was that the right thing to do, Weiss?"

"I think so. They need time alone. We can give them that."


	6. Lingering Memories

"What are we?"

"Pyrrha! We're Arkos! We've been over this, remember? It's our last names!"

Jaune shook his head, forcing the memory back, preventing it from taking over his day. He wasn't going to let it get in his way. He needed to be stronger. To be better prepared.

He had made some changes to his wardrobe, adding armor to previously unprotected spots on his attire. Still, he wasn't fully covered, as he refused to wear a helmet, stating that it got in the way of his vision and hearing.

Pulling himself back up to his feet, he retrieved his sword from where it had fallen after he was pushed into the wall. He then charged at his opponent, the older man easily side stepping the 19 year old, causing him to go barreling headlong into the wall.

"Again."

The blonde shook his head again, this time to clear his vision, and rushed at his former professor, who, with a sideways motion, managed to easily send him into another padded wall.

"Why are we doing this, professor?"

"Jaune, I've told you. You need to be able to anticipate and counter an attack. It is what your weapon is based around."

The younger human looked at his sparring partner. Aside from minor attire changes, Dante was almost the same in terms of appearance as he had been when he taught at Beacon. He had changed from a black tee to a button down, and had added a slightly flowing kama-like garment at his waist. Other than that, he hadn't really changed.

"Can... can we... can we stop for today?"

Looking at his exhausted student Dante smiled.

"Sure. You are running the risk of exhaustion at this rate. Is something bothering you?"

"Bothering me? No. Nothing's bothering me at all. Why would you ask?"

"Your team mates are concerned about you. You've been... distant, according to the hyper one."

"You mean Nora? Anything she doesn't directly interact with is distant to her. I think."

"Jaune, if something is bothering you, you need to tell people.

He realized what he had said only after it was too late.

"I... I'm... I'm sorry, Jaune, I..."

"Just leave me alone for a bit."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna shower and then... then I'm gonna take a walk."

The blonde left, leaving the brunette to think about what he had said.

In the shower, Jaune hung his head. He hadn't been sleeping well, but had masked it as being worried about the upcoming attempt to take back their school and Vale. He knew it was a lie, and he had a sneaking suspicion that his team mates did as well. But if they did, they never let on that they knew. The only one who would press the issue was Dante, but he didn't think he was ready to talk about it to the older human yet.

The only one he felt he could talk to was Ruby, and she was busy making sure that Yang's arm was functioning correctly. When she wasn't doing that, she was hanging around with Weiss. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that they were in a relationship, but he had a feeling that Weiss was still hung up on Neptune, so he pushed those thoughts out of his head. There was no way Weiss "Ice Queen" Schnee would ever be into women. It wasn't proper for the continuation of the Schnee name. At least, that is what he told himself.

He left the shower, dried off, and re-dressed, deciding to get some fresh air. He had started to take an interest in the older weapons in the household, especially the swords, many of which predated his own.

He was studying one in the armory when Ruby and Weiss entered, smiles on their faces. He looked over to see them smiling, and watched as Ruby planted a kiss on the heiress' lips. 

It was only after they parted that they noticed his presence.

"Hey, Jaune. What's going on?"

"Nothing, Ruby. I was... I was just finishing studying this sword," he lied, putting the antique back in the stand with a careful hand, ensuring it wouldn't break. "I.... I'm gonna be going now."

He then left the chamber, and walked through the halls, hanging his head. In that one instance, he had mentally replaced both of his friends with himself and Pyrrha. No matter how long it was, or how hard he tried, he couldn't get her out of his head. And Dante wasn't going to be any help here.

Neither would Ren or Nora, as they were almost joined at the hip these days. Maybe Yang? No. She was busy. And Blake?

"She'd probably tell me to get some fresh air," he said aloud to nobody, his voice echoing in the empty hall.

Finally, after wandering, he found himself at the room he shared with Dante. He opened the door, and entered, shutting the barrier behind him. He made his way across to the bed, where he sat long enough to remove his shoes and weapon belt. He pulled his hoodie over his head again, tossing the garment aside. He then let himself fall onto the mattress, where he closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep.

It wasn't long before he was in his usual, restless sleep, the dreams preventing him from regaining his sanity.

"Jaune, what's wrong?"

"Pyrrha... I..."

His dreams were very vivid, he could see her, smell the pleasant scent that wafted off of her, a remnant of whatever perfume was in her shampoo. All these, however, he knew were memories. And every dream ended the same, no matter how good it was. It would seem that the universe had decreed that he wasn't to be happy, even in his own imagination.

"Pyrrha, I should have been there to help you."

"Help me with what, Jaune?"

He looked around him, and then he noticed it. He was sitting across from her in their dorm room at Beacon. They were, suspiciously, the only ones in there.

"Where are Ren and Nora?"

"They went to see a movie. Jaune.. I..."

"Pyrrha..."

The words left them as they got closer together, their lips meeting. As they parted, however, the location was different. They were standing in the courtyard, and she was crying.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Pyrrha... wait!"

He shot up from his bed, sweat pouring down his body. He was over heating, and there was a crowd. All of Team RWBY, Ren, Nora, and Dante were standing around him.

"What... uh... what are you all doing here?"

"We may not always agree," Wiess said, "but that doesn't mean that you need to lie to hide things from us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jaune," Ruby said, her voice calmer than the heiress', "We know you haven't been sleeping."

"Look, vomit boy," Yang said, the nickname having stuck to him after he had managed to lose his lunch all over the floor, and the blonde's boot, "You're going to end up hurting yourself more in the long run."

"Waitaminit. Is this... an intervention?"

"Jaune," Nora started, "you know we all care about you. So what if you let... MPRHGRHGPHRGRPH"

She was muffled by Ren, who proceeded to apologize to Jaune and drag her out of the room simultaneously.

Blake took over at this point.

"They're right, Jaune. You need to get some sleep. Running yourself ragged, obsessing over the past will only hurt you in the long run."

"Yeah... I know that... But I...."

He could feel the tears coming to the front.

"Jaune," Dante interjected, "there is nothing wrong with telling somebody. I have made that mistake far too often. And I still run from it. Don't be me. I'll be outside if you need me."

The older huntsman left the room, leaving the blonde male with Team RWBY.

"I just... I let her..."

His words were becoming incoherent as he started to cry. While none of the others knew what to do, Yang took a page right out of Summer's book, remembering how her step-mother had comforted her when she was little. She walked across the room to where he sat, and pulled him into a hug.

"I know. We all miss her. Jaune, there was nothing you could do."

"I.. I could have saved her..."

"Jaune, I'm fast, but I'm not even that fast," Ruby said, trying to comfort her friend. "By the time I got there, it was too late... and Cinder had..."

The younger human started to tear up as well, only to be pulled close by her now girlfriend. And they just stayed like that, with Blake crossing the room to join Yang and Jaune on the bed.


	7. Reenforced

It had been about two months since Qrow and Winter had arrived in Vale, and it was seeming like every Huntsman and Huntress who had ever been to Beacon for any reason was showing up to assist with the upcoming attack. One, in particular, spotted Qrow and stormed over to him.

"Where are they, Qrow?"

"I told you: They're safe!"

"That doesn't answer my question! Where. Are. They?"

"Geeze. They're in Atlas still. I told them to stay put."

"So they aren't even here."

"Nope."

"Good. I don't want my girls anywhere near this place."

Qrow scratched the back of his head. When Taiyang had shown up, he had expected it was to help with something, not jump down his throat about Ruby and Yang's whereabouts. He pulled his flask out and took a sip from the vessel, allowing the alcohol to linger momentarily in his mouth.

"That's gonna be tough, given that a good chunk of their friends are showing up here. You know how they are."

"Exactly. And that is why I don't want them here."

The blonde male was only acting out of what he felt was concern for his daughters' safety, but he also knew it was him being selfish. Raven had left him, and Summer was dead. In his mind, Ruby and Yang were all he had left to remember better times. Never mind that they were fully capable of taking care of themselves, and had done so on a few occasions.

"You do realize that this whole offensive we are gearing up for is your daughter's plan, right?"

"I know that, Qrow. I just..."

"Tai. I get it. You don't want to lose them."

Taiyang looked at his former team mate, his face worried.

"Yeah. She's pretty headstrong there. Just like..."

"...just like her mom. Here," the dark haired man said, handing his flask to the worried parent. "I know it's not them, but you seem like you need to calm down a bit."

"Qrow, you know I won't touch that."

"Your choice there. I'm not gonna force you."

Across the town, a small group was desperately fighting off waves of Grimm.

"This is ridiculous!"

"Look, man, I never said that it was going to be easy!"

Sun and Neptune were both beginning to tire, with there being only so much that their weapons could do. They were relieved when several of the creatures were thrown back against walls.

"Both of you, with me! We're getting out of here!"

"Professor!"

"Just come along. There is no point in fighting here any more."

"Neptune, I think she has a point. Let's get out of here!"

Sun, while not normally being one to run, was all for a retreat this time. Especially if Glynda was calling for it. Neptune, on the other hand was wanting to stay and fight, even though he was on the brink of exhaustion.

"James, I've got the last two. Send in the airstrike."

Behind them, a veritable firestorm erupted as several airships carpet bombed the wide street, destroying Grimm and buildings. The property could be repaired later, the street repaved. They rounded a corner, only two blocks from the safe zone, only to encounter an Alpha Beowolf.

The creature took a swipe at them, which they all managed to avoid. However, it was the backswing that Glynda ended up taking almost full force, sending the blonde woman flying into a wall, where she crumpled on the ground.

"Neptune! Get her out of here!"

Sun activated his Semblance, causing two copies of himself to appear and distract the beast while the trio made their escape.

Back at the perimeter, Winter was on guard at the very moment that the younger pair came back, carrying Glynda.

"What happened?"

"Alpha. She hit a wall. Non-responsive."

"Get her in here."

They carried her beyond the checkpoint and got her to where a military medic was waiting. They then left the tent and went to report to the general. Winter took this opportunity to send a message to Qrow about the situation. Both he and Taiyang were there within moments.

"What do you mean only the three came back?"

"And what happened to her!?"

"It would seem that sending reduced patrols to better use our available forces was a mistake. We need to keep four person teams with our troops when they go out as often as possible."

"Damn straight. Now, Winter, what happened to Glynda?"

"According to the blonde boy, she was flung into a wall by an Alpha."

"So the streets aren't safe?" 

Taiyang's inquiry was understandable, but unnecessary. Still, Winter answered him.

"No. They aren't. That is why increased manpower on patrols should be a thing we seriously implement."

"Not gonna disagree on that one, but do you really think that Jimmy, in his pride, will listen to you?"

The elder Schnee narrowed her eyes at Qrow, but changed her expression as she spoke.

"He probably won't. That is why all we can do right now is hold out and pray that your nieces..."

"Yeah. Those kids are our only hope for ever retaking any of it."

Qrow then turned to his friend.

"I'm sorry, Tai. But it's the truth."

"I know. I've known since they both left."


	8. Prodigal Return

Time kept moving, no matter what any of them wanted. Days turned to weeks. Weeks into months. In Atlas, Team RWBY was preparing their end of the plans, unaware that the situation in Vale was going to be far worse than they had hoped by the time they got there. And worse, was, of course a relative term, and in this case, it was literally relative.

"So now you decide that you want to do the decent thing?"

"Hey! I showed up, didn't I?"

"Heh," Qrow scoffed. "Like you would have given a damn any other day. Why does it suddenly concern you, huh?"

"I want them to not have to..."

"Don't you feed me that damn lie! I know you far better than anybody else here!"

"I'm sure you would like to think that, brother."

"You lost the right to call me that years ago, Raven."

"And how, in your twisted mind, did that happen?"

"You lost that the day you abandoned Yang! And don't you dare pretend you suddenly care."

Qrow and Raven had been arguing almost non-stop since the black haired woman had arrived. All Winter could do was sit back and not interfere, as Taiyang had told her it was an argument that had been twenty years in the making.

"But why would they fight like that?"

"Qrow and Raven never really saw eye to eye on everything. They may be twins, but that doesn't mean that they were automatically going to agree. You see... Raven is..."

Taiyang's voice trailed off as he looked over at the remainder of Team STRQ, still in their heated argument. 

"Raven is Yang's mother. She may act relaxed, but she really is the spitting image of her mother, messy hair and all."

"So you two were... together?"

"In a sense. We never married. When she... when Raven left, leaving Yang with me, Qrow and Summer stepped in. So you could say that Yang and Ruby had two fathers and two mothers, but the truth was... Raven was never parent material. She... she was so scared when she found out she was pregnant with Yang."

"Why did she run, though?"

The blonde human shrugged. "Don't know. I'm sure she had her reasons, whatever they were. It was probably for the best that she did. Looking at that," he motioned in the direction of the argument, "I don't think we would have lasted long staying together. Still, she is gorgeous. Even after everything."

Winter had been getting to see the dynamics of Ruby and Yang's family up close for the better part of 3 months now. And she could now see why Atlas Academy had decided to discourage team members from dating each other. At the same time, she was remembering why she had been smitten with her boyfriend from the first time they had met. He was passionate about the things he cared for, and wouldn't back down unless absolutely necessary.

"You are such a jerk!"

"And you're becoming no better than the people we are here to stop!"

"At least I don't rely on alcohol to numb my pain!"

"At least I don't run from what I'm afraid of!"

"You know that's a lie, Qrow. You're always running. Running right into your little bottle."

"You turned your back on your family, Raven! So don't you dare lecture me on how to be human!"

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"

Taiyang's sudden outburst caused all present to fall silent. The blonde male normally stayed out of the disputes when they were all younger. Now, however, he had had enough.

"Qrow, back down. Same for you, Raven. Yes. We've had difficulties. No, it wasn't easy raising Yang, or even Ruby for that matter. Qrow was there to help me when I needed it. Raven, I won't ask why you left. I doubt I would accept any answer you gave me. But the fact remains that our daughter is going to be involved in a massive operation to retake not only the rest of Vale, but the school as well. We need to show a united front for them, if nothing else."

He looked back and forth between the two siblings.

"Please. For their sake. Let's go back to how things were when we were a team."

"Don't expect me to stick around forever, Tai. You know I can't do that."

"That's not what I'm asking, Raven. I'm asking you to help out with this operation and nothing else. You want to leave when it's over, fine. I won't try to stop you. But please, for our daughter's sake..."

"I'm not doing this for her, Tai. I'm doing it for me."

Qrow turned and left, only to be followed by Winter. The white haired woman wrapping herself around the scythe user's arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I can see what you mean by you two not getting along."

"Yeah. She and I... we don't see eye to eye on much of anything any more."

"I can see where your niece got her looks from."

"Yeah. Yang's all Raven in that department. Attitude wise, however," he chuckled, "she is 100% Taiyang Xiao Long."

The pair stopped walking and looked up at the shattered moon, it's dim light providing minimal illumination. They knew that many of the Huntsmen and Huntresses would not survive the coming onslaught.

Back where the former lovers were, Raven was taking her weapon apart to clean it. Taiyang, meanwhile was throwing punches and kicks at the air, the focused strikes showing little sign of failure or loss of skill.


End file.
